


Project Fives

by beenwandering



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen, Incomplete
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-12
Updated: 2011-02-12
Packaged: 2017-10-15 13:52:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/161470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beenwandering/pseuds/beenwandering
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco's just become a giant bird-okay, veela, same difference-and he's slightly mortified. His friends aren't helping, and now Dumbledore is forcing him to tutor the fifth years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Project Fives

**Author's Note:**

> Incomplete, permanent hiatus.

Right. So. Veela. Merlin, that was news to him.

Of course it wasn't like he hadn't heard the whispers every time a veela was brought up. When his Defense Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts had studied the veela, everyone turned in their seat to give him a scrutinizing glance. When Fleur Delacour had visited Hogwarts in his fourth year for the Tri-Wizard tournament with her white blonde hair and superior attitude, everyone had asked if they were related.

Yet it caught Draco Malfoy by surprise. He was stalking down a hallway in his home. He'd worked himself into a tizzy thinking about what had happened at the end of the school year just two months ago. His father being sent to prison, Potter sending his father to prison, Potter hexing him on the train, Potter being a general thorn in his side and ruining his life just by existing.

His back suddenly arched up and he felt a burst of pain. He went to call out, vocalize the effect the stinging in his back was having, but he couldn't. He couldn't do much of anything but realize that his vision was a bit fuzzy and...wait...now it was awfully clear. He didn't hurt anymore.

Blinking, he tried to right himself from the kneeling position he had fallen in to, but...his hands! There was something coming out from his wrist. He followed whatever it was with his eyes, looking past his elbow, above his shoulder, at his back, until he could turn his head no more. Feathers? The same on his other arm. Were these...wings? He noted that would definitely explain the pain in his back.

His hands also were different, stronger. His nails had sharpened. He put the nail of his finger against the palm of his other hand, pressed, and...ow! Definitely sharp. He smiled.

Draco briskly walked down to the end of the hall and turned a corner to where he knew a mirror hung. He closed his eyes, righted himself, gathered some courage, and looked.

Oh.

He realized why he couldn't talk, as he seemed to have a beak now. When did that happen? He certainly hadn't felt it. Trying to talk, Draco found he could only make low screeching noises. Ugh, how unpleasant. Well, at least he was taller.

He noted his skin was an odd shade of gray. His eyes...his eyes! What he could presume were now bird-eyes stared back at him. Long, yellow slits adjusting to the light. Combined with the large, black wings he confirmed were sticking out of back, he did the only think he could think of.

He ran as fast as he could to find his mummy.

He found his mother sitting in the window seat of the drawing room, curled up with a book. He rushed and yelled, "Mother! What's happened!" Of course, all Narcissa heard was "Scree! Squaaaahhh!"

She jumped at the noise and whirled he head around to see the large bird standing in her house. Her first reaction was to scramble back and let out a squeak of surprise, but this was Narcissa Malfoy, and no one surprised her. So, concealing the shock she felt, Narcissa stood and faced the creature. She took in its blonde hair, thin physique, very nice sweater (was that cashmere?), and its seeming familiarity of her, she came to a conclusion. Oh God, it was going to eat her and steal her son's expensive tailored clothes.

Wait... "Draco?"

The bird threw up its arms and nodded. Slightly relieved and a bit more confused, she approached her son. "Draco, what...oh. You're getting feathers on the floor."

Draco drooped his shoulders and sunk to the floor. She always was bad at focusing on the important issue, but this was ridiculous.

Seeing her son's look of defeat, she kneeled next to him. "Just calm down, Draco. Come here." She helped him up and led him over to the window seat. "I want you to close your eyes and take a couple deep breaths. Just relax."

Ha, she wanted him to relax! He was not the Draco his mirror knew and loved. He was something else, something he never knew he could be. His heart was pumping and his mind was racing...Maybe calming down would help. He let his eyes close as he inhaled. His face relaxed as he let the air out slowly. This wasn't too bad...another deep breath and he opened his eyes. He noticed things were a lot brighter for some reason. Hm. He looked down to discover his sharp nails gone, his skin the normal ivory color he was used to, and no wings! He smiled and looked up at his mother.

"Mother, what was that? What happened?" He asked her, curiosity in his eyes.

She smiled and nudged him down the bench a little to seat herself next to him. "Draco, your father wasn't sure the situation would arise, so he never mentioned it, but you're a veela."

"No, really," Draco responded dryly. Rolling his eyes, he asked, "Why did he think I wouldn't need to know? And why did you act so surprised when I came in?"

"Dear, you looked like a big, angry bird. You don't exactly look like my short, sweet boy. It took me a moment to realize what had happened. I also never thought you would transform. I don't carry any veela blood in me. Your father had a minimal amount in him and he wasn't sure it would be a trait you would inherit. Veela blood is very picky about being passed down, sometimes you get it as a dominant trait, sometimes you don't. Your father doesn't have any veela ability, he was hoping the same would be said for you."

Draco thought over the traits of a veela. "Why would he hope I wouldn't be veela? I'm stronger, taller, and wicked scary."

Narcissa laughed, "That's true, but what has your father always taught you about controlling your emotions? You only have the veela transformation when you get very angry, which makes it hard to control your temper and not let others know. The bird form is a way of expressing emotion. I assume when it happened you must have been very upset."

"Well, yes, I was thinking of father stuck in that terrible prison and..." He stopped, not wanting to get himself worked up again.

"I assume the longer you have to deal with becoming a bird when you're mad you will be able to control how upset you must get to transform, but it will be hard, Draco. A veela must also have control over what they do with their bird form. You could really hurt someone if you don't watch what you are doing."

"What about the attraction, Mother? I remember hearing in class that a veela was...dangerous because they could control how people felt about them," he asked.

Narcissa simply laughed. "Oh, Draco. You're a Malfoy. You already have plenty of attraction. The only difference is now that you know it's there, you can turn it off if you'd like. Some veela traits never regress, and your hair and your natural attraction is part of that. You'll be able to tell when you're actively trying to gain someone's attentions using your attraction. It's something regular people do all the time, your veela side just manifests it more."

"Regular people..." Draco sighed. "Am I...Does this make me a half-breed, Mother?"

"No!" Narcissa gasped. "Dear heart, Draco. You are a pure Malfoy, and a Malfoy is pure magic. A veela is still a witch or wizard, they just have special abilities. It is a proud thing to be veela, Draco. Even more proud to be a Malfoy. Your father had only hoped you wouldn't be a transforming veela because of the vulnerability it shows..."

Draco frowned, "Vulnerability?"

"Well, Draco, because of a veela's manifested magic, there's an air around that reaches out to people. It's part of the natural attraction of a veela, but its inherent nature is to find a soul mate. Regular wizards aren't likely to find their soul mate because everyone feels the same to them on a magical level." Narcissa smiled, "With a veela only the person who matches their magical search will be the person they will try to use their attraction on."

"So, I can only be with this one person?" He asked.

"No, you could be moderately happy with a different person. But if you find your other half, you will only want to be with her, and that will cause a lot of grief over the person you were with before. You'll be able to find the perfect person for you; no one else will fulfill that. It's lovely, but also means that should you find that person, you'll likely be devoted to just trying to get her to want you to. That shouldn't be too hard, but love is, according to your father, a vulnerability." Narcissa stood and gave her son a smile. "Now, why don't you go to the library? Your father has some books on veela that should interest you. I'll have an elf send you a snack."

Draco also stood. He thanked his mother and turned to head towards the library. He had a lot to learn about this veela stuff before school started.

A loud whistle blew as white smoke billowed around the people briskly walking to and fro. Draco lifted his eyes around the platform where he stood. It was back to school for him today. Hogwarts was starting on September first, as usual, and this year things would be different. Draco had spent the rest of the summer studying up on veela and working to control his transformation ability and temper issues.

Well, not the whole rest of summer.

Okay, so he had studied for a week and then worked for a day on seeing if he could use his wings to fly without a broom. He found that with practice he could use them to control the wind around him to make himself move faster, but they wings weren't made for full flight. After getting bored with reading about veela, and the disappointment of his wings, and eventually getting his school supplies to do his summer homework, Draco realized he only had two weeks of summer left to enjoy and quickly became a teenage boy once more. He swam in the lake on near his home, he did some regular flying on his broom and warmed up for quidditch season, and he got a lot of extra beauty sleep. ("Even boys, veela boys, need a lot of rest to look this good, Mother!").

So the end of the summer found him at the train station, waiting to board the Hogwarts Express. His eyes flickered over to a loud noise to his right. The group of red haired people was the first thing to catch his eye and he immediately groaned and turned the opposite direction. "Weasleys," he said to himself, "should not be allowed to congregate in one area."

His mother came up behind him and pushed lightly on his arm. "Don't get yourself worked up before you even talk to them. I know you don't like the boy, but I am not a blooded Malfoy and so this fifty-year-old feud between the Malfoy's and Weasley's does not apply to me. I don't care for them one way or the other, Draco. If they want to be loud and...poor, so be it. I chose to have one boy to spoil instead of six."

He frowned at her and replied, "Mother, you may be able to ignore them but I can't help it, we fight naturally."

"Well, I suggest you learn to be more mature than that." She held her head high and put a hand on her son's shoulder. "If you get into a fight and transform, you could kill the boy even without meaning to, and I don't think you want to have that on your head, no matter how much you dislike him."

Draco nodded. Sure, Weasley was a jerk, but he didn't want to get expelled just because the guy pissed him off and he accidentally punctured a vital organ or something. He would just have to settle for puncturing replaceable organs.

He bid his mother goodbye and seated himself on the train in the first empty compartment he came across. His friends were usually the very last to board the train and he would always claim the compartment. The train whistled and began to move just as Blaise and Pansy found him and came inside.

He smiled. "Hey, Blaise. Hi, Pansy. How was your summer?"

Pansy gave him a pointed look, "Absolutely lonely! Why didn't you write? I saw you a couple weeks after school let out, then about a month ago you just stopped writing!"

Blaise nodded with a pretty smile on his face. "Yeah, Draco. Why, Vince and Greg were just saying how much they missed your letters," he said sarcastically. Pansy punched him in the arm and turned her attention back to Draco.

"Hey, where are Vince and Greg?" Draco asked, avoiding the subject.

Blaise answered, "They're a few rooms down, said they needed to do their homework. They spent the whole summer goofing off and wanted to get it all done on the train, nice and quiet."

Draco laughed quietly. "They'll be by soon enough to get some help. You know they hate to do their own work. They could be so smart if they didn't love to be lazy."

"Well, that's why they have you, Draco. Prefect, all O student, top student in Slytherin. We all know that's the real reason they hang out with you, Draco," Pansy joked. Her face turned angry as she brought up her previous subject. "Seriously, Draco. Why didn't you write? The last month of summer you didn't talk to any of us."

He sighed and thought of a way to tell his friends what was going on. "Well...it's kind of complicated. I learned a few new things and I was...adjusting to the news."

"What new things?" Blaise inquired.

Draco tilted his head down and looked up at them through his hair. "Don't tell?"

Blaise and Pansy eyed each other with raised eyebrows and looked back at Draco. "Of course, Draco," Pansy answered.

"Well, it turns out my father...well...I'm not human." Blaise and Pansy gave him flat looks until he continued. "Veela. I'm part...bird? Which is kind of weird to think about, I don't think I'll ever touch chicken again. Either way, I'm supposed to stay really calm this year until I can get my transformation under control. If I get mad I turn into that scary bird-thing and I could hurt someone. So, if you see me veering off, could you help keep me in line?"

"Wow...that's not what I expected to hear. I thought your grandfather had died or something," Blaise commented.

Pansy nodded, "I, uh, I love birds! Have an owl, you know. Carey. Good owl. Generally mild tempered, and I trained him. I think I already have you pretty trained, so this shouldn't be too much trouble." Draco gave her an amused smile.

"Alright, just don't expect me to start delivering your mail. Thanks, you guys." He was relieved, really. He had thought they'd at least back away and poke him, or something.

The rest of the ride went smoothly. Draco avoided leaving the cabin alone in case he ran into...well, anybody really, as most had an adverse opinion of him. When Vince Crabbe and Greg Goyle eventually showed up for some help with their transfiguration essays, Draco told them of his new situation as well. The five of them spent some time talking about their predictions for the coming year. "I heard some Ravenclaws talking about the new professor. Says he's bigger round than me and very smart, although he's supposedly a complete brown noser," Vince told the group. True to the rumors, the new professor, named Slughorn, came to visit Blaise and invite him to a "special tea for special students."

Draco and Pansy decided to follow silently behind the man as he spoke at Blaise's blank, confused expression. Slughorn and Blaise happened upon Harry Potter in the isle, and he too was invited to the special tea. As the tea was joined by some more students, Pansy whispered that Draco should join and see what was going on. At Draco's refusal, she proceeded to open the door and push him in anyway.

Faced with an unimpressed teacher and a confused group of students, Draco stuttered out an explanation as to why he had burst in. When Draco was finally pushed back out, he reared on Pansy. "That was humiliating, Pansy! How could you do that?"

She shrugged and asked, "What was going on in there?"

"Brown nosing, just like Vince said. Trying to get on with the kids who have the most potential. I, apparently, do not count as I have a parent in prison."

With a sigh, he and Pansy went back to the cabin and waited for Blaise's return.

The Welcoming Feast found Draco and his friends sitting huddled at the end of the Slytherin table closest to the only exit. Best seat in the house according to Pansy, as one always needed a quick escape from the headmaster's speech, and the firsties, and the fattening foods that always looked too good to be cooked by wrinkly little elf fingers.

Draco leaned into Pansy and whispered, "Is it just me, or is Professor Snape looking abnormally happy today?"

Blaise hunched over the table to whisper an answer of, "Any happiness from Snape is abnormal!"

Pansy lightly slapped his arm and smiled. "If he's happy then we should be too. Maybe he won't make us give the firsties a speech tonight."

"If we get any firsties," Draco replied. "There are so few these days...scared into being Hufflepuffs by the war or some other Daily Prophet bollocks."

They quieted down for the sorting, where the Slytherins did manage to gather a few of the newcomers. When Dumbledore rose for the speech, none of the students were prepared for his announcement.

"Five whole months?" Draco couldn't get over it. Dumbledore sprung two major things onto the student body. They discovered why Snape looked so smug. He was to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher while the new teacher, Slughorn, was to teach Potions.

The Slytherins were quite pleased that their head of house was finally teaching what he'd always wanted. While it was expected to become now the toughest class in school, at least there was no danger of him leaving random potions about the common room to see what nosy snakes would test out his newest invention.

It also meant Slughorn, who already had proved himself able to brown-nose with the best of them, would likely turn Potions into an easy O. With Blaise on Slughorn's team of future financial backers, he would likely be able to weasel his way out of some of the assignments for the group.

However, it was the second announcement that really shook the school. "Five hours of breathing some fifth year's putrid stink every week to prepare them for OWLs. Five months of five hours every week. Why that's," Draco paused for a moment to place the numbers in his head. "One hundred hours! Per subject! Oh, what did I do to deserve this?"

"You did good on your own OWLs, that's what," Blaise interjected. "The headmaster picked the top five students from every testable subject to tutor small groups of fifth years for OWL prep. You just happened to be in the top five in every subject you took."

"I took nine tests! He can't really expect me to spend all my free time on this."

"Shame on Draco for being so darn smart," Greg chimed in, sarcastically. "Can I join the group? Merlin knows I could do with a few OWL retakes..."

Pansy took a seat on the couch next to Draco and let her head rest on his shoulder. "You had what? Potions, Defense, Arithmancy, Charms, Transfigurations, Herbology, Runes, Astronomy, and History, right? You were top five in all, but I'm sure if you set up a meeting with Dumbledore he'll take on some other students so you'd only have to tutor two or three subjects."

"Yeah," Vince agreed. "What were your highest subjects?"

Draco thought a moment before answering, "Potions I was tops, Herbology I was second best in class, and same with Transfiguration. Yes...maybe that could work. I'll stop by his office tomorrow. Although, knowing Granger, she was likely tops in all her subjects too and she'll be taking on all the tutoring sessions."

"But didn't she take all the available subjects? Eleven or so?" Pansy asked.

"That only proves she will try to take it all on," he replied.

Blaise spoke up. "Hey, speaking of Transfiguration, can you become an animagus if you already turn into a bird when you get pissy?"

Draco glared and him and then sighed in defeat. "No, I can't. It's something about transformation being too much of a strain on the mind and body. If my animagus were a small cat or something and I got mad while in it, I would have to de-transform and then re-transform into the veela. Too bad, I had always wanted to become an animagus too."

"So, the bird thing is a total transformation then? I thought you still looked like you, only with feathers," Pansy asked Draco.

He explained to her and the others who were also curious that he really did a massive transformation. Claws, feathered wings, beak, gray skin. The whole bit. He also mentioned how he couldn't speak and the uncontrollable emotions he was faced with while in his veela state.

The group relaxed on the couches, thinking. Vince and Greg thought about getting some anti-nausea potions to help with the feast aftereffects. Draco thought about how he could get out of the stupid tutoring thing. Pansy thought about how nice Draco's shoulder felt against her head. Blaise connived in the recliner, plotting devious ways to get Draco to (safely) transform for Halloween. Best costume ever...

Draco scheduled an appointment with Dumbledore as soon as the headmaster was able to meet with him. A week later he was sitting in the man's office, quirking his head at the phoenix on the perch next to him. The bird would tilt its head at Draco, and Draco would tilt his head back. It was oddly relaxing; he felt he was getting to know the phoenix. He had been let into the office by a professor who informed him Dumbledore would be with him in five minutes. Ten had gone by before Draco started to get bored enough to strike up a conversation with the bird. First the head tilting, and then Draco began to tell it of his recently adventures into the bird family.

"You know, I never really liked birds. The family owl used to bite me. Mum said it was just a love peck but the thing would screech... And I never got any mail either. Now, I guess, I don't have a choice."

"Don't have a choice in what, Mr. Malfoy?" A voice from the doorway startled Draco out of his soliloquy. He turned to see Dumbledore smiling at him.

"Ahh...nothing. Sir." He was a bit shaken that the headmaster caught him talking to a bird, but he simply returned his gaze to the front of the room and waited for Dumbledore to sit.

The headmaster reclined in his chair, giving an air of relaxation and control. "How can I help you, Mr. Malfoy?" He asked.

Draco sat up straight, "I wish to be excused from the tutoring sessions, headmaster." He figured he might as well try to get out of everything instead offering himself up to teach a couple subjects off the bat.

"Why, you're one of the best students in the school. The fifth years would be most lucky to have you tutoring them." Dumbledore replied with a smile.

Draco held his ground. "I understand, headmaster, but I simply won't have the time. My life has become quite busy as of late," what with no longer being human and all, "and tutoring five hours a day in nine subjects is simply not possible."

"Oh, what limitations even we wizards, who control the air and the very threads of life, have when dealing with time and stress. I see your point, Draco." He leaned forward, "Perhaps I could convince you to tutor just two subjects?"

Draco sighed internally. He was prepared for this, but he had really hoped to get out of tutoring altogether. "I'm prepared to make an offer, but it comes with some stipulations."

"We may be able to work something out."

"Alright, so explain to me how you ended up with History and Astronomy. Didn't you say Potions was your top?"

Back in the Slytherin commons Draco explained to Blaise and Pansy how his meeting with the headmaster had gone.

"It turns out he never had any intention of having the top students teach every subject they were top in. Altogether there are 22 students to divide tutoring amongst. Everyone has two subjects and we alternate who leads the tutoring each day." Draco was disappearing in a huge plush chair near the fireplace. His voice was muffled by a large pillow as he tried to forget about what lay before him.

Blaise chuckled. "So, what's the catch?"

Draco pushed himself into a sitting position. "Well, everyone who participates gets one house point per session, and all the tutors get extra time at Hogsmeade. I was bargaining for some tutor skip days from classes, but he said it might defeat the purpose of trying to do well in school. I think he had everything planned in advance, anyway. I started to tell him I'd tutor Potions but he handed me a schedule for History. It even has a snappy title, 'Project Fives.'" He used air quotes to accentuate his sarcasm.

"Extra time at Hogsmeade and house points, all for showing up and answering some fifth year's questions about their OWLs? I know extra work generally isn't the Slytherin way, but I'd say it sounds like a sweet deal," Pansy threw in her two knuts.

"Yes, I see your point. I mean, until the couple weeks before OWLs there's likely not going to be anyone there anyway, except a few Ravenclaws, maybe." Draco agreed.

Blaise stood up and stretched. "Well it doesn't even start until after Christmas break. Might as well not worry about it now. I'm heading to bed." With a yawn Blaise walked towards the dorms. "Don't forget, Draco, you wanted Pansy and I to help you with the bird thing tomorrow."

Draco nodded as Pansy stood to leave as well. 'The bird thing' was their not-so-secret code name for working on his veela transformation. He had four months to get the transformation under control. Once the tutoring began he'd have no time with that and his regular schoolwork. He was getting really sick of avoiding all the annoyances in school just because he couldn't afford to pick a fight. Really, who cared if Potter lost an eye anyway? He just didn't want to get blood on his nice shirts was all.

As it turned out, Blaise was completely useless. Of course, Draco had suspected 'the bird thing' was not going to be an easy task, but their first attempts were pathetic. As far as Draco knew the only time he could transform were during times of high emotion, stress, fear, anger, anything with a little passion. Blaise was calling him every name in the book; even taking a few jabs at his mother, while Draco just stared at him blankly. Pansy was laughing at them from her vantage point on a nearby rock.

"It's not going to work, Blaise," She called out. "He knows your intentions, he has no reason to get angry." She stood and walked over to where they stood. They were on school grounds in one of the valleys students rarely bothered to walk.

She sidled up to Draco and placed her hand on the crook of his arm. She faced Blaise, saying, "You have to get him riled up, right? Not necessarily angry." She moved her arm slowly up and down Draco's arm as she spoke. "A woman has so much more ability to stir up emotions than a man."

Pansy continued to speak to Blaise about something or other and she walked in circles around Draco, but all Draco was focused on was her hand. Her hand that had moved away from his arm and to his back. And to his lower back. And under his shirt. And across his stomach. His eyes unfocused as he reveled in the feel of her warm hands gently touching him.

Blaise could tell what Pansy was doing and both she and Blaise wore a smirk as they watched Draco's eyes unfocus. "All a girl really has to do," Pansy kept her voice low and sultry, a soundtrack to her intentions, "is touch," a brush across his abdomen, "and show the boy," a soft body pressed against his side, "she wants him," a hot breath on his neck and he was gone.

Pansy's eyes widened as Draco grabbed her in one swift movement and pulled her from her position behind him to flush in front of him. His narrow pupils glared at her as he emitted at low, rumbling noise. She squeaked at the large beak that was close to poking her nose. Draco closed his eyes and shook his head. Slowly the beak receded and when he reopened his eyes they were back to the gray-blue Pansy loved.

"Woah…Draco, that…" Blaise rushed over to his friends. "You did that so fast, Draco! I barely saw you transform. Can we do that again?"

Draco sent a glare at him and turned back to Pansy. "I appreciate what you were doing, but never, ever, put your hands up my shirt again."

"Hey, it was no picnic for me either, Draco. You think I enjoy feeling up my best friend? It's like hitting on a brother. And for the record, yellow eyes do not go with that shirt, especially not now."

He glanced down at his green polo and frowned. He'd have to remember to wear something different next time, it had become overly stretched out and torn due to his sudden growth and large wings. "Still, it did make me transform, so thank you. However, now I expect we have a new problem. If Pansy feeling me up triggered it, what's going to happen when a hot girl hits on me? ("Hey!") No offense, Panse. I just mean, I'm not romantically interested in you, but you were able to change me in a minute."

"I see what you mean," Blaise threw in. "But you seemed to calm down right quick after your transformed. That's a start, right?"

Draco snorted, undignified. "Yeah, it's a start. I just now have to avoid annoying people and all women. Piece of cake, I'm sure."

One month later Draco was raising suspicions among the rest of the Hogwarts students.

"What do you suppose he's planning?" Harry Potter leaned into his friends at the lunch table.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly. What if he's just decided to grow up? You could stand to follow."

"Grow up? This is Malfoy we're talking about. Steal your book and throw it over the moving staircase, trip you at the top of the hill, Deatheater in training Malfoy. He wouldn't just suddenly decide to be, you know, boring." Ron Weasley argued while blatantly staring at the party in question.

"He's been focusing on his studies and, from what I hear, preparing for Project Fives. If that's boring, what do you call me?" Ron and Harry locked eyes and Hermione huffed.

"It's three months till Fives starts, Hermione," Harry said. "Malfoy hasn't even spoken to us since last year. He hasn't been in any fights, and I even saw him run the other direction when Paddy Landau unbuttoned her sweater and hit on him."

Ron leaned in with wide eyes and whispered, "You think he's gay?"

Harry just shrugged and answered, "He acts more asexual than anything lately. He used to always have a girl hanging on his arm, now he just sits quietly with Parkinson and Zabini."

"Well I say what's the big deal? He's not bothering us; he's not bothering anyone. He's actually not being a jerk for once and you think it means he's got a secret plan to ruin your life. Honestly." Hermione turned from the boys and grabbed her books. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a boring meeting with Professor McGonagall about the boring Fives," she quipped. The boys waved their goodbyes and continued to whisper about what Malfoy could be up to.  



End file.
